Vila Gale Albacora

Excellent breakfast, very nice staff and service, very nice pool. Nice SPA and very quiet surroundings. Its located near Ria Formosa a natural park, nice place to take Long walks (sand like) for exercise and relax. The hotel has also a museum, a chapel and an exclusive boat transfer service to the beach and town. nice options.

Some less good points of the stay were the presence of mosquitos at night. And especially for those staying in rooms close to the entertainment area, the noise of music and entertainers can also be a problem if you want to rest early. The accesses to the beaches around the hotel are heavily polluted with garbage, such as bottles, cans and plastics.... While the hotel may not be responsible for this pollution, it would be beneficial a regular clean. If I can add a suggestion, please add walkways to improve accessibility to beach.

Really impressive location, buildings and grounds, better than the official class of this hotel would suggest. Staff were friendly and tried their very best. Buffet breakfast and dinner generally very good.

Some staff training required. Some are very young and don’t really fully understand customer service. Others were excellent. Pool activities and loud music won’t be ton everyone’s taste but they were short in duration and evidently very enjoyable for those that took part.

If you enjoy a mildly remote natural location then this hotel may be for you (if not look elsewhere). If you want an alternative to the excellent hotel pool, then take the hotel run boat service which takes guests to the barrier island (5 mins) which has a tremendous beach with bars/restaurants or to a more remote location with just one. The walk into Tavira town takes 30 mins or 10 mins drive. The rooms were pleasant with either river or garden views, the staff were all great, very friendly & welcoming. Restaurant food has a la carte or buffet style options with excellent house wines. If you enjoy cycling then this hotel may be great spot for you.

If you take the walk into town be prepared for a 200m walk which has plenty of mosquitos ready to attack (just use some jungle gel). After the walk takes you away from the trees & foliage the mozzies are no longer an issue as you proceed through the salt pans (keep an eye out for flamingoes) as you make your way into town. There is a morning & afternoon shuttle bus for guests which connects with sister hotel in town. An additional evening option would be good but perhaps it would not be in the hotel restaurant's best interests.

Fabulous pool and the staff in the kids club were amazing the indoor pool was gorgeous. The boat was great and there is a complimentary bus into town Wednesday to Sunday it doesn't run on Mondays or Tuesdays. The boat runs to the beach every day.and is 3.20 an adult under 3s are free. We ate in the restaurant twice.and the food was good. The hotel is extremely well maintained. There's a bouncy castle every morning from 10 to 11

Ants in the room we had an infestation in the room I mean there was 100s of them all over my room and in my belongings but we were moved to a different room so this rectified the issue. Mosquitos so make sure to bring spray FYI the little bottles of water in the room aren't complementary they're 2.60 a bottle so beware! Also need more information to be available about the location and what's around Would be difficult to stay at without a car though

The hotel is situated in a beautiful secluded location and has very good infrastructure: outdoor swimming pools for adults and kids, indoor pool with sauna and steam room, kids playing grounds. The animation team is great( big thanks to Mariana and Eddy)

- The hotel is quite dated, rooms lack basic toiletries ( hair shampoo and conditioner etc) and storage space; -the single beds are not comfortable and no option for double bed was offered; The main downside of this hotel is however its service: with the exception of the reception and animation team, very few of the staff spoke any foreign language. Many of them, instead of serving were trying simply to ‘avoid’ the foreigners. The service in the spa was particularly bad; - food in the restaurant ( buffet and a la carte) was quite average.

Absolutely wonderful stay, beautiful and historical location of great ecological importance, and gorgeous environments. The facilities were superb - restaurant was particularly a very good experience -, staff was friendly and professional, with lots of animation events. Overall, a great place for family stays.

Weather was not ideal - but that is hardly the host's fault! However, the hotel provides a very good, guarded, and relaxing environment even in these circunstances. Service during breakfast was very quick and snappy - perhaps a bit too much, as it risked giving the impression they're rushing guests away. Historical sites in and around the hotel deserve more curation, but this too is a problem endemic to the country as a whole, and something the hotel makes considerable efforts to correct by hosting a permanent display about traditional tuna fishing in their own museum.

Great story of the hotel, amazing architecture and landscaping, super clean, beautiful garden, inside and outside pools, church and kids club on-site, delicious breakfast, ability to take a paid ferry to the island nearby, free upgrade, crepes and omelet station, free on-premises museum showing tuna past, library, amazing kids pool, complimentary water

Small room (really packed and tiny for 3 adults), river facing room but had no river view (!!), no map (hard to get to the room at night), tricky to go with suitcases due to bricked aisles

The property and it’s staff are too notch. The meals and beverages were delicious, the pool beautiful and refreshing! The hotel backs up to a private beach which was a delight and a great surprise…there is a ferry at this beach to bring guests across to the full beach on the open ocean.

The accommodations were slightly dated and the sheets could certainly use updating (extremely low thread count…almost scratchy!) The rooms do not offer irons or steamers and these could not be borrowed or rented from the front desk either. Lastly, the mosquitoes were awful once the sun went down. This made use of the guest room patio impossible in the evening.

Third visit. We just love the location - recognise that it won't suit everyone. Having visited twice previously we knew what to expect. Lots of choice for breakfast. The room and patio were adequate. Pool area is large with no problem at all getting a sunbed at anytime of the day. The option of a direct boat trip to the beach was also a positive. All staff friendly and helpful The link to the previous tuna village and factory makes this a quirky and unique hotel.

A seven day shuttle bus service would be useful. Surely this is not difficult to sort out. Cleaning at times could have been better. Drink glasses missed at pool and oh the toasters at breakfast were soooo slow. Asked for a double bed but got two singles pushed together. Minor issues but attention to detail is important

Peaceful reception includes welcoming staff, a lovely place to land after a journey. The lemon and mint water available in the lobby each day was much appreciated. Staff was prompt, attentive and friendly in restaurants and bar. Lovely decor. And the room was spotless. The little balcony was a private and overall peaceful. The buffet dinner and lunches were pleasant and my gluten intolerance was accommodated, along with my friend's lactose intolerance. Lots of outside areas to sit, chill and walk.

There was an airconditioner/heater in the room that flashed with a bright light, on and off. The staff did rectify it, with a piece of black tape, but my first night's sleep was disrupted. If you book, check it out before bedtime and they'll fix it. Excited to go to the spa, I was greeted with rock music. The music from the gym can be heard everywhere in the spa, except the pool area. Definitely a turn-off. I wouldn't book a massage, but did thoroughly enjoy the pool, hot-tub, sauna and steam room.